Automatons
Repeat after we.
Let us meld our separate selves into a vast
Amorphous mass.
Let us conjoin, discard “alone,” revise the I,
And flirt with the amoeba in its shallow depths, for
We are One.
Let us permit the ether to drip and slick
Our souls and let us sip
From grails of nepenthe the cold unknown,
For with the dark of Naught,
Our bliss is sewn.
And we are One.
(Do not forget this, child.
It is the gravest sin to forget,
Unless it is the self which is
Forgotten.)
And let us now, our alloyed Man
Of solid one another, hand in hand,
(O Holy Union)
Let us free the world of ego’s solitary toil
And begin afresh the reign of man as mass,
Each atom much the same,
Like one piece to the lot of arid soil,
For in this Brave New World
Our scientists may wear the cone of pallid dunce,
While he who sweeps our streets
May very well have once
Been like unto the sculpture
Of an alabaster god, now
Set to stand in shame,
To know nor love nor pain,
For all that is of I
Must by the One be claimed,
Since we do not believe in tungsten, copper ore,
Or any that was made by
One alone, for
We do not create,
We merely own.
©2008 *orphicfiddler
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Submitted: May 9
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Submitted: May 9
File Size: 1.4 KB
Image Size: 0 bytes
Resolution: 0×0
Comments: 35
Favourites & Collections: 7 [who?]
Views
Total: 106
Today: 0
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Today: 0
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Author's Comments
A few days ago, I was walking by an outdoor ampitheatre, and observed a quantity of youths repeating phrases in unison at the behest of an older gent. Now, something about that sort of thing (repeating in unison) has always irked me slightly; how often, when told to "Repeat after me" does the repeater actually pay attention to what he or she is repeating? Is there any real comprehension going on? Personally, I know that I tend to go off into auto-response.
Having also recently been nosing through Ayn Rand's Anthem for the hundredth time, something clicked, tying in repetition, automatic reponses, and unity to the point of obliteration of the individual. I had always wondered how something like the society of Anthem could ever come to be (a society so focused on conformity that the concept of "I" has been completely eradicated), but suddenly, the concept seemed a little less far-fetched...
So here it is. The offspring of Anthem and repetition in an ampitheatre, plus a little commentary on modern life thrown in as well, I suppose.
Having also recently been nosing through Ayn Rand's Anthem for the hundredth time, something clicked, tying in repetition, automatic reponses, and unity to the point of obliteration of the individual. I had always wondered how something like the society of Anthem could ever come to be (a society so focused on conformity that the concept of "I" has been completely eradicated), but suddenly, the concept seemed a little less far-fetched...
So here it is. The offspring of Anthem and repetition in an ampitheatre, plus a little commentary on modern life thrown in as well, I suppose.
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Devious Comments
Hehe... I only know "nepenthe" because I've read Poe's "The Raven" far too many times...
Anyhow it was great all the same!
Excellent...my dear...Bravo!
--
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction."-Ayn Rand
("Island Of The Lost Souls")
MOREAU: "What is the law?"
BEASTMEN: "Not to eat meat...that is the law...
.......................Are we not men?"
You're quite the deep thinker, Tess!!!
--
DUCK AND COVER !!!
The idea that the janitor was once a "god" amongst men created an extremely powerful and heartbreaking image. But the unison of 'humanity' placed the smartest minds (the scientists) on the same shameful level. That universal empathy you've created (without even directly stating it might I ad) is fantastic.
Overall the poem reminds me of one of my favorite films "What the Bleep Do We Know?", especially the lines "Each atom much the same,
Like one piece to the lot of arid soil", specifically this parallels an theory called 'trans personal entanglement' which states that every single person is made up of atoms which are linked in a sort of instantaneous telepathic way to every other atom in the universe. What this means is that every atom affects every other atom equally. In other words: if you think good or bad thoughts about me, somehow it affects me in a way which reflects those thoughts, regardless even of the distance between us.
Anyways, back on track. The language in this poem is fantastic. It sounds like a mantra or prayer being repeated in a church service held by robots. This poem has an incredibly strong tone. It's rare to see a poem with so much atmosphere and personality.
--
"Young man, lift up your russet brow, and lift your tender eyelids, maid, and brood on hopes and fears no more." - W.B. Yeats
The one part I had a bit of trouble with was "And let us now, our alloyed Man
Of solid one another, hand in hand". I had to read it a few times over ; it felt like a word was missing somewhere, but honestly that might just be my brain's inability to grasp something.
--
Live and let live!
"We have just enough religion to make us hate one another, but not enough to make us love one another."
"Life should be a humane undertaking."
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